Silicon Blog

There are two interesting transformations that are currently taking place inside the semiconductor industry: First, systems companies (not chip companies) are now driving the semiconductor industry. Second, IoT focused chips are accelerating design starts. The result is what I would call the Custom SoCs for IoT Revolution!

IoT first came to SemiWiki in 2014 and and was met with a lot of doubters. Since then we have published 383 IoT related blogs that, as of today, have been viewed 1,210,095 times by 19,759 different domains. Design IP is the most popular IoT topic and as expected, ARM is the predominant vendor in IoT blogs. According to ARM, their mbed IoT Device Platform has already been adopted by more than 200,000 developers and is a fast path to silicon success. While I agree, there is an even faster path to Custom IoT SoC silicon success and that is working with an approved Arm Design Partner like Open-Silicon.

What is an ARM Design Partner? A company that is vetted and audited for their ability to deliver successful SoC design services based around the Cortex-M0 and Cortex-M3 processors in the ARM DesignStart program. ARM Design Partners must also be well versed in other ARM IP, have their own libraries of IP, and have a track record of silicon success which brings us to Open-Silicon.

“With the broadening product portfolio of ARM DesignStart, now including both Cortex-M0 and M3, it is clear that ARM shares our vision for simplifying the path for system developers to deploy IoT platforms,” said Mark Wright, Sr. Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Open-Silicon. "Open-Silicon’s Spec2Chip IoT platform, based on Cortex-M, is enabling the development of highly-differentiated custom SoCs for various IoT applications with reduced risk, schedule, and cost."

· Product Differentiation Using ARM Cortex-M Based IoT Edge SoCs· IoT SoC Platform Demonstration Cortex-M Series· Trust Based IoT Security Mechanism For ARM Based SoCs to get you started

In addition to design, Open-Silicon also does manufacturing and can deliver tested chips ready for assembly. In fact, Open-Silicon is the only ARM Design Partner that can do end-to-end Custom IoT SoCs that I know of.

Remember, Open-Silicon hasshipped more than 125 million chipsso if you are considering a custom IoT SoC, that is where you should start. If you need a proof of concept to raise money or if you need to get your software development started ASAP Open-Silicon can quickly deliver your design via FPGA then move it to custom silicon for mass production.

Bottom line:The IoT systems business is highly competitive so you will need to have complete control over your silicon. If you are not doing a Custom SoC today you may not have the opportunity to do one tomorrow, absolutely.

About Open-SiliconOpen-Silicon transforms ideas into system-optimized ASIC solutions within the time-to-market parameters desired by customers. The company enhances the value of customers’ products by innovating at every stage of design — architecture, logic, physical, system, software and IP — and then continues to partner to deliver fully tested silicon and platforms. Open-Silicon applies an open business model that enables the company to uniquely choose best-in-industry IP, design methodologies, tools, software, packaging, manufacturing and test capabilities. The company has partnered with over 150 companies ranging from large semiconductor and systems manufacturers to high-profile start-ups, and has successfully completed 300+ designs and shipped over 125 million ASICs to date. Privately held, Open-Silicon employs over 250 people in Silicon Valley and around the world. To learn more, visitwww.open-silicon.com

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